Regulatory Bodies to Strengthen Supervision Checks: Aiming at Exaggerated Promotions of Autonomous Driving
Shanghai Securities News reporter Guo Bao Hao
August 13, the National Market Regulation Administration and the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology jointly released a notification titled "Opinion on Strengthening Supervision and Management of Smart Connected New Energy Vehicles" (Draft for Public Comment), which clearly states that when providing information about the driving autonomy level, system capabilities, or system boundaries of smart connected new energy vehicles to consumers, enterprises shall not engage in false, exaggerated, or misleading promotional activities that may mislead consumers. The National Market Regulation Administration will enhance its supervision and management over such promotional activities. Since the beginning of this year, several automakers have released strategies for popularizing autonomous driving technologies or revealed the mass production timelines for L3-level conditional autonomous driving and L4-level high-conditional autonomous driving technologies, sparking a new round of "autonomous driving fever". However, traffic accidents caused by drivers using intelligent driving systems or assisted driving functions have occurred from time to time, drawing widespread attention from society. In fact, as early as April 16, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology's Equipment Industrial Committee organized a meeting on smart connected vehicle product access and software online upgrade management, emphasizing the boundaries of promotional activities for autonomous driving and proposing that "exaggerated or false promotional activities shall not be performed, and strict notification obligations shall be fulfilled to ensure production consistency and quality safety". In early May, Xiaomi, Ideal, Weilai, and XPeng, among other automakers, adjusted their online and offline promotional materials to replace descriptions of "autonomous driving" with "assisted driving". Founder of the National Research Institute for New Economy, Zhu Kelu, expressed in an interview with Shanghai Securities News that under the backdrop of standardized promotion, competition between enterprises will focus more on the strength of their products. Enterprises with advantages in autonomous driving technology research and development and application will be able to stand out in the market. For car manufacturers that rely too heavily on promotional activities to boost their competitiveness, they may face greater survival pressures. Such measures will help shake up and consolidate the smart connected new energy vehicle industry, promoting healthy development.